Get tour kicks ...

• Author: Knowles, Drew
• Position: Going Places - Traveling through Route 66, United States of America

AS THE SONG says, get your kicks on Route 66. Dubbed the "Mother Road" by John Steinbeck, this iconic highway has inspired generations of Americans to take to the open road and go traveling. Remember, though, that there is one thing which is far more important than all else when it comes to getting the most enjoyment out of your trip on old Route 66--a spirit of adventure. Never take a road trip without it.

In a nutshell, I urge you not to plan to take chaise of your Route 66 experience too precisely. Instead, plan for the adventure on Route 66 to take charge of you. As much as possible, I encourage you to "go with the flow." Do not set an itinerary that requires you to make it to city "X" by a certain time of a certain day. Keeping to such a schedule inevitably will cause you to hurry through certain portions of your journey, and there is no way of knowing how much you will miss by doing so.

Move as the spirit moves you; pause and take in the sights and sounds of your adventure as they present themselves to you. Your reward will be a trip like no other. Dare to dare. Try new food and drink; meet some strangers; turn down a road just because it looks interesting or because you are curious what is there. This is the stuff of which lifelong memories are made.

Things can change rapidly out on Route 66. What you see today might be gone tomorrow, or soon after. Keep your camera loaded and ready--and use it liberally. Do not scrimp, and do not worry about whether the resulting photographs will be worthy of a museum exhibition. If you do not consider yourself an artist, then be a documentarist. Just record what you see that interests you. It is far too easy to think to yourself: "Well, it's been standing there for 50 years now; I'm sure it will be there for a few more." Sadly, too often this is not the case. Do not fall into that trap. This is a lesson I have learned again and again over the years, both on and off Route 66.

I have written the Route 66 Adventure Handbook to guide you on Route 66. Bring it along with you on your trip. Your navigator can read aloud from it as various points in your journey are reached. Even if you elect to skip a certain side trip, the modest background information can enrich your trip in unexpected ways, sometimes by giving you an appreciation of other features of the countryside.

Incidentally, I certainly do not expect you to take in every nuance that I have chosen to make mention of in this handbook. Just pick out...